Glass on a mobile phone is one of the most fragile elements. Should a mobile device fall onto asphalt or rubble, the screen will in most cases break. And even the use of durable protective glasses like Gorilla Glass by manufacturers does not save - displays still break. In this case, you have to buy a new touch panel, and also spend money on replacing glass on a smartphone. However, you can try to carry out this operation yourself.
Theory
Before you start manipulating glass on a smartphone, you need to know what you have to deal with. The main elements here will be:
- Matrix, which is a liquid crystal panel. It is on it that the image that you see is formed. In some phones, the matrix is located under the protective glass, and in other models, these two elements are one. The matrix is connected to the main board of the smartphone through special loops.
- Touchscreen. This is a glass panel that breaks when the smartphone falls. It will be necessary to change it. If the touchscreen with the matrix is one integral element, then if the touchscreen breaks down, the matrix will have to be changed. It is expensive.
- Frame and buttons.
- Backlight
- Loops.
Procedure for replacing glass on a smartphone
When falling, the touchscreen always suffers first of all, and then damage to the matrix is also possible. In any case, the replacement order will look like this:
- Dismantling the smartphone.
- Removing the main module from the chassis.
- Screen warming up.
- Separation of the touchscreen from the main module. Sometimes it is removed with the matrix.
- Removing glue and dust.
- Adhesive for mounting a new touch glass. Lamp irradiation for quick drying.
- Housing assembly.
Instruction manual
If the matrix and the touchscreen in your phone are different, separate from each other elements, then you can cope with a simple procedure yourself. This will help save money, because the price of replacing glass on a smartphone can cost 1000 rubles, and there it takes only 10 minutes.
For work, we need:
- Curly screwdrivers.
- Hair dryer. Preferably mounting.
- Adhesive tape or glue.
- Mediator.
- Gloves.
- A plastic card.
- Shovel.
Some of these devices come with a new screen.
You need to start with the bolts. We unscrew the bolts with a small curly screwdriver. Most often, an asterisk screwdriver is required. Put all the bolts in one place so as not to lose. An ordinary matchbox is ideal. Many models have a hidden bolt in the upper left of the smartphone. It also needs to be unscrewed.
Now we take the pick and with its help we try to remove the smartphone case along the perimeter. This tool is perfect for this purpose. Many try to remove the cover with a screwdriver, but small dents remain on its sides, which are immediately visible and even felt when you pick up the phone. Therefore, the pick is an ideal tool for removing the smartphone case.
Pay attention to the side latches. They need to be pressed a little to remove the case. These latches are fragile and break easily, so do everything carefully. If you break any of them, the case will not fit as tight as before.
Now you need to dismantle the buttons that are on the sides. Take the tweezers and carefully remove them, without touching any cables. If there is a top button on / off the smartphone, then it also needs to be removed.
After dismantling the buttons, we push back the main board, but we do it very carefully, because under it there is a loop to the touchscreen. You need to disconnect it and connect the cable for the new touch glass. This is necessary to verify operability. After connecting the cable, turn on the smartphone and slide your finger over the new touchscreen. If it works, then you can proceed to the full removal of the previous glass.
Remove the old glass and glue the new one
To remove the glass with a hairdryer, it is necessary to warm up the areas of its fastening to the case (usually the touchscreen is attached to the front of the case). Warming is done at a temperature of 70 degrees for 5-10 minutes. During this time, the mounting glue will melt, and the touchscreen will easily come off. Then you can attach the new sensor to the main part of the phone. At this stage, there are 2 options:
- Remove residual old glue. Glue double-sided tape instead, and already attach a new sensor to it. Note that this is the right way, but it is more laborious, because you need to remove the old glue, and this is quite difficult.
- Replace the protective glass on the smartphone with old glue. This can also be done, and the adhesion of the new sensor with glue will be strong. But first, the old glue needs to be heated with a hairdryer after you tear off the old touchscreen.
Glued a new glass? Now you need to insert the cable from the sensor into the connector where the cable from the old glass was connected. After you need to assemble the phone in the reverse order.
How much does it cost to replace glass on a smartphone?
If you go to the workshops, you will have to pay for the screen and the work of the master, which, depending on the workshop and the region, can be estimated at 500-1000 rubles. By replacing the glass yourself, you will save money. In this case, it is better to order the sensor through the well-known Chinese site, which will save even more.
If you change the display in the cabin on a new smartphone, then the replacement will be very expensive and often translates into 50% of the cost of the phone itself, and sometimes more. Therefore, if you have the skills to replace displays and sensors, it is sometimes beneficial to do it all yourself, even if it takes much more time than in the workshop.
In cases where the sensor and the matrix of the smartphone are one, the replacement will also be expensive, because the matrix itself is an expensive element, and the price of the sensor is cheap. Of course, the image on such displays looks high-quality, but in the event of a fall and damage to the glass, the repair costs a round sum.
Conclusion
Doing glass on a smartphone with your own hands is a simple task requiring experience, nothing more. If you want to learn how to do this, first practice on an old smartphone, which is not a pity to spoil. After one or two procedures, you will learn and will be able to easily make the replacement yourself. True, in different models there may be subtleties, but you will understand this.